“Let me tell you why the Creator made this world. He was good, and the good can never
have any jealousy of anything. And because he was free from jealousy, he desired all things to be
as much like himself as they could possibly be” (Pittenger 101). Plato was a famous philosopher.
His affect the world was great. Many things that people have been wondering about for years,
such as life’s questions, were first written by Plato in his different writings and dialogues. In his
writings, he tried to answer things such as the meaning of life, what the world is truly like, or
things pertaining to men being mortal or immortal. There was a great deal of questions, answers,
comments, discussions, and humors in his dialogues (Pittenger 4). Some of his writings were
pleasant, however, some were unpleasant and about things like death of friends (Pittenger 5).
Plato influences many people in history and today because he founded the Academy and had an
impact on the development of Western philosophy.
Plato was born in Athens, Greece in 428 or 427 B.C. (“Plato” Discus). He was born into a
rich, prominent family (Pittenger 5). His family was aristocratic and distinguished. He was born
the year after the Athenian statesman Pericles died (“Plato” Discus). Plato grew up in an
atmosphere of political excitement and interest. Some people believe that because he lived in a
political environment, it later influences his decision to become an intellectual figure (Pittenger
15). His father’s name is Artiston, and his mother’s name is Perictone. His father’s side was
claimed to be descent from the god Poseidon. His mother’s side was related to the lawyer Solon.
His brothers are Glauson and Adeimantus, and h...
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(Pittenger 6). Plato is best known as the author of philosophical works (“Plato” Discus).
Throughout his entire life, Plato was a huge influence in philosophy and development of the
world (“Plato” Gale).
Life without any of Plato’s discoveries would be very different. There would probably
not be any types of writings like his on philosophy, the major three influencers would only be the
two, and there wouldn’t be an Academy for people to go to and learn. Plato has influenced the
world in numerous ways. Without these things, the world wouldn’t be where it is today.
Philosophy wouldn’t be as diverse or detailed and many men around the world wouldn’t
understand things in their thinkings. Many of life’s questions would still be unanswered or
unthought of. The world just wouldn’t be the same without Plato’s discoveries and his
philosophy.
Plato, Phaedo, In: The Collected Dialogues Of Plato Including The Letters, Editors: E. Hamilton and H. Cairns, Bollingen Series LXXI, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1961.
Although, Plato’s Republic seems to be a philosophy of long ago, many of his ideas are still relevant in our society in ways we do not even realize. They show that man, left to his own thoughts outside of God, basically comes back to the same point or thought
To understand Plato’s view of the nature of human beings one must also understand his view of the world and the soul in turn. Plato’s Republic is a Socratic dialogue, this excerpt from Book IX relays the second of a three-part argument aiming to prove that a man who leads a just life leads a happier and more fulfilled life than the unjust man.
From the start of his society, Plato holds one idea to be truth, that all man through training, can be formed into the perfect humans. Plato believed that if he starts his society from children, that he would be able to train anyone through myths and education to become the type of person he wants them to be. Therefore, a man such as Daniel could never exist in his society, his educational system would never allow it. This is one major flaw in Plato’s argument. Plato believes that when humans are born, there is nothing to them, no preexisting personality or being inside every child. Each person from birth, is a blank slate, whose experiences and decisions make into the person that they end up being. While the way a person is raised does have an enormous impact on the life they lead, personality and traits they ar...
and Plato. The main focus of the paper will be to deal with both sides of the
Plato was a philosopher and educator in ancient Greece. He was one of the most important thinkers and writers in the history of Western culture. Plato was born in Athens into a family that was one of the oldest and most distinguished in the city. His father Ariston died when Plato was only a child. The name Plato was a nickname meaning broad shoulders. Plato's real name was Aristocles. Plato had aspirations of becoming a politician, however these hopes were destroyed when his friend Socrates was sentenced to death in 299 B.C. Extremely hurt Plato left Athens and traveled for several years. In 387 B.C., Plato returned to Athens and founded a school of philosophy and science that became known as the Academy. Topics such as astronomy, biological sciences, mathematics, and political science w...
"Plato." Literature of the Western World, Volume 1. 5th edition by Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 2001. 1197-1219.
transmit to the world of his time the doctrines of Plato and Aristotle. He is
Plato, Phaedrus, trans. R. Hackforth, in Edith Hamilton and Huntington Cairns, eds. The Collected Dialogues of Plato (New York: Pantheon, 1966).
What is the most asked philosophical question? It seems to me that the answer is: what is the meaning of life? Everywhere in the world, one can find the evidence that finding a meaning in life is very important for people. Humanity appears to be preoccupied with this question since the very dawn of civilization.
Aristotle, a Greek philosopher and scientist, who became a famous figure of philosophy in the history of ancient Greek. Aristotle being more of a practical minded individual than Plato or Socrates, he is best known for rejecting Plato 's theory of forms. Aristotle influence such topics as logic, metaphysics, physics, botany, mathematics, ethics, biology, politics, medicine, agriculture, dance and theatre.
Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato were two of the most influential and knowledgeable ancients in our history. Their contributions and dedication to science, language and politics are immensely valued centuries later. But while the two are highly praised for their works, they viewed several subjects entirely differently, particularly education practices, and human ethics and virtue.
Plato is one of the most influential philosophers in western philosophy. He has wrote enormous amounts of dialogue ranging from political issues -what came to be the birth of political science- to issues of the soul and being.
agreed with his points of view. All three Hume, Descartes, and Plato had relatively the
He wrote many dialogues, and one of them includes his famous dialogue called “Allegory of the Cave.” This dialogue explained how we were born into being very naïve people about our surroundings and taking things for granted, but eventually with the right education we grow to be philosophers that know the Form of Good. Society closes our eyes and whispers things to us in our ears and we believe it, in order to break free we need to educate ourselves into being more knowledgeable about our surroundings. We need to analyze even the smallest things, nothing is to be taken for granted because everything is more complex than what it seems (Plato, p. 26). Plato also states in his idea of self, the soul, that the soul is composed of three parts, our desires, the conscious awareness of reason and the spirited part which gets angry at injustice (Plato, p.40). His allegory and this idea about the parts of the soul connect with each other and might as well lead us to understanding what his idea truly means. Like the first argument, we could say that because our souls is what makes us alive, we are aware of the life we live, therefore we become philosophers only when we do not forget where we came from. This though, sounds contradicting to itself if we take the second argument in hand. If our soul is our life and our body is what carries it, than our ability to become philosophers depends solely on our ability to remove our soul from the body in